I had a good discussion with a client whose background was in auditing for a Big Four accounting firm. He pointed that audits, in that context, is mostly about looking at what happened in the past.
In contrast, when buyers request factory audits, the purpose is:
To identify risks by pointing to gaps that might have a serious impact on business performance (and to avoid giving much business to a high-risk supplier)
By making the most serious gaps obvious, to put pressure on the … [Read more...]

A few months back, I wrote about how some buyers can no longer put up with their suppliers' quality issues. And I often lament on the poor state of quality systems here.
In this article I'd like to mention the other enormous source of frustration for foreign buyers: the high minimum order quantities (MOQs) and the long lead times.
High MOQs and long lead times are tightly linked
They come from the same underlying issue: the "big batch & long queue" mentality.
Industrial engineers, as … [Read more...]

Quality Inspections & Supply Chain Management in China

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in Chinese manufacturing since 2005.
Renaud's company performs factory audits/evaluations, product QC inspections, and factory process improvements.